Last month we discussed some of the health benefits of the ketogenic diet. Our daily intake of sugar is quite high in North America. Most of the blame can be placed on hidden sugar found in processed foods. Foods such as yogurt, cream cheese and peanut butter will have vaguely-worded sugar derivatives added in. These hidden sugars amounts can add up significantly, spiking blood sugar levels multiple times a day. These sugar spikes can cause overloading of the pancreas. The pancreas is responsible in lowering sugar levels by releasing insulin. Overtime the body can stop responding to these insulin spikes, resulting in higher blood sugar levels, which can lead to many different health complications. This is a cause for concern as the level of diabetes in the population of Ontario has now reached 8%!.

Here are three meals I eat regularly to help lower my carbohydrate intake. An occasional sugar indulgence is permitted, however these three simple meals can help you lower your daily sugar consumption, and don’t take much effort to prepare!

Breakfast Power Smoothie: This is usually how I start my morning, it’s quick, easy and nutritious. Best of all there is no added sugar:

Chicken ‘Caesar’ Salad: A quick and easy lunch recipe to help reduce the cravings during the workday.

Chicken: Cooked with additional spices to taste

For the salad I use the pre-packaged cesar salad packages. It is quick to prepare and much fresher than what you may get at a restaurant.

Dressing: this is the tricky part, cesar dressing does have added sugar, instead you can substitute with oil, hummus or avocado.

I recommend adding in spinach, the health benefits of spinach are too numerous to list here, in summary: it is really good for you!

Lentils are an absolute necessary part of any healthy diet. Not only are they a good source of protein, lentils provide a great source of energy throughout the day. Best of all, lentils take very little effort to cook, especially when using an electric pressure cooker like an Instant-Pot.

These three simple meals should help you get started on a low-carbohydrate diet. Most importantly, these three meals offer a great source of energy, so those 2pm cravings should become a thing of the past. If you have a recipe you would like to share email us: clinic@muscleandjoint.ca